The Basics of Underfloor Heating
Although underfloor heating has been around for hundreds of years (the Romans brought it to Britain when they invaded), it has been more frequently used in Europe than the UK, so it's relatively unfamiliar to many folks here.
The concept behind underfloor heating is simple - by warming up the whole floor, it's possible to keep a room at a comfortable temperature with minimum energy use, as the radiant heat from the floor is soaked up by people and objects in the room, and so the air temperature can be lower for a given level of comfort. Because heat rises, heating the floor naturally leads to a really even distribution of heat within the room.
There are two main kinds of underfloor heating available - electrical, and wet. These refer to the different ways each sort of system heats the floor:
An electric underfloor heating system uses electrical cables which heat up when electric current is passed thru them. Electric underfloor heating is comparatively inexpensive, quick and easy to install, however depending on the cost of electricity in your neighborhood, it may be costlier to run than a wet system.
A wet underfloor heating system uses water pipes to heat the floor, these are generally buried within the screed that makes up the floor. Hot water is circulated round these pipes - and that is heated by a traditional boiler, or in a few cases, a ground source heat pump can be used.
Underfloor heating is ideal for buildings with high ceilings, as the rooms will feel comfortable due to the warm floor radiating heat, and the heat passing the occupants as it rises. A typical radiator-based heating system can cause draughts in such buildings, as warm air rises from the radiators, pulling colder air across the floor and past the occupants of the room.
Underfloor heating normally works with a floor temperature that's quite low - just a few degrees higher than the required air temperature, due to the large heated surface area. However, it is important that a building is moderately well insulated for underfloor heating to work efficiently, otherwise the system may create a higher floor temperature so as to maintain comfort, so compromising the efficiency of the system.
If you're building a new house, or renovating an existing one, underfloor heating is a convenient, modern and efficient system that is well worth finding out more about.
The concept behind underfloor heating is simple - by warming up the whole floor, it's possible to keep a room at a comfortable temperature with minimum energy use, as the radiant heat from the floor is soaked up by people and objects in the room, and so the air temperature can be lower for a given level of comfort. Because heat rises, heating the floor naturally leads to a really even distribution of heat within the room.
There are two main kinds of underfloor heating available - electrical, and wet. These refer to the different ways each sort of system heats the floor:
An electric underfloor heating system uses electrical cables which heat up when electric current is passed thru them. Electric underfloor heating is comparatively inexpensive, quick and easy to install, however depending on the cost of electricity in your neighborhood, it may be costlier to run than a wet system.
A wet underfloor heating system uses water pipes to heat the floor, these are generally buried within the screed that makes up the floor. Hot water is circulated round these pipes - and that is heated by a traditional boiler, or in a few cases, a ground source heat pump can be used.
Underfloor heating is ideal for buildings with high ceilings, as the rooms will feel comfortable due to the warm floor radiating heat, and the heat passing the occupants as it rises. A typical radiator-based heating system can cause draughts in such buildings, as warm air rises from the radiators, pulling colder air across the floor and past the occupants of the room.
Underfloor heating normally works with a floor temperature that's quite low - just a few degrees higher than the required air temperature, due to the large heated surface area. However, it is important that a building is moderately well insulated for underfloor heating to work efficiently, otherwise the system may create a higher floor temperature so as to maintain comfort, so compromising the efficiency of the system.
If you're building a new house, or renovating an existing one, underfloor heating is a convenient, modern and efficient system that is well worth finding out more about.
About the Author:
Mark Richards writes on the subject of underfloor heating for AboutUnderfloorHeating.co.uk where you'll discover lots more about how underfloor heating works and why it's such a good system for heating your home.
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